The Little Things Series

[RECOUNT STORY AND EMPHASIZE KEY DETAILS]

• How a wedding worked

• How important it was to provide wine

• There could be legal consequences (a lawsuit) on top of the social embarrassment for running out of wine (failing to properly provide for guests at such an event)

• What were the stone water jars used for

• The interaction between Jesus and his mother

• “My time has not yet come.”

• Pots were filled “to the brim” – no chance of slipping some wine in later

• The best wine was saved for last

• Jesus revealed his glory and his disciples put their faith in him.

All by itself this is a pretty remarkable story, but as I said, John isn’t just recounting an historical event. He has a deeper meaning in everything that he writes. Let’s take just a minute to look at the story BEHIND the story.

John’s “Story Behind the Story”

John is a careful writer and he doesn’t include or leave out any detail by accident. Everything he includes in the story is there for a reason. Remember, John’s entire purpose for writing his account of the life of Christ is that the readers might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

His whole point is to carefully reveal the truth about who Jesus is…the Messiah who came to save the Jews, and anyone else who would believe, from their sins and restore them to their God-given destiny of being a people who would represent God to the world around them.

The fact that this miracle took place at a wedding is no coincidence. Many times throughout his ministry Jesus refers to the celebration that will take place at the culmination of history as a wedding feast. The imagery of the first century Jewish wedding is used over and over again. He refers to himself as the bridegroom, the church as the bride, the celebration as a wedding feast. He refers to the coming to take the church to be with him as a bridegroom coming in the night to receive the bride. He refers to going to his fathers house to prepare a place and then coming back to receive his bride. THAT JESUS PERFORMED HIS FIRST MIRACLE AT A WEDDING WAS NOT A COINCIDENCE

John points out that there are 6 stone pots for ceremonial washing. In this reference he is painting a picture of the law and of Jewish tradition. Jewish law demanded that a person be ceremonially clean before they partook of any meal and often they had to re-cleanse themselves between courses of a meal.

The clay pots represent the law. Some have made a big deal about the fact that John tells us that there are 6 ceremonial washing pots. Six was a number that indicated imperfection or incompleteness to the Jewish mind. Those who pursue this line of thinking claim that John, in identifying 6 stone jars for ceremonial washing, was indicating the law and Jewish ceremony were imperfect and incomplete, but Jesus was able to complete that which was incomplete.

The fact that the wine had run out symbolized a need or that something was lacking and Jesus commanded the servants to fill the ceremonial washing pots with water. The pots representing the law and the water representing less than the best. But once Jesus got hold of it everything changed. Where the law was unable to satisfy…Jesus provided the new wine of Grace in place of the law. And it wasn’t cheap wine either…it was the best. Wine was an important feature at the Jewish wedding. Rabbi’s were known to say, “Without wine there is no joy.” The ceremonial washing jars…filled with water…could not bring joy, but Jesus and the new wine of Grace could.